A PRISON officer who tried to smuggle an inmate's sperm out of jail so she could have his baby is facing a stint behind bars.

Alison Sharples, 46, was found guilty of misconduct in public office after being caught with 31-year-old convict Marvin Berkeley's semen in a syringe during a bag search at HMP Garth in Leyland, Lancs.

Cavendish Press

Prison worker Alison Sharples has been jailed after attempting to smuggle out an inmate's semen

And today she was caged for nine months over the seven-week affair with the gun-toting Mr Big.

Passing sentence Judge Simon Newall told Preston Crown Court: "You had worked in the prison service for a period of ten years and appeared to have been a respected officer.

''But you attempted to become pregnant with this man's child and there was communication between you outside the prison when he was inside the prison.

Cavendish Press

Lag Marvyn Berkeley was the convict Sharples was conducting an inappropriate relationship with at HP Garth

SWNS:South West News Service

The 46-year-old was determined to have a baby with her gangster lover following a seven week affair

''The work in the prison service carries a high degree of public trust and responsibility and the integrity of a prison service is dependent on officers acting in a professional manner.

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“What you were doing was abuse to the public's trust as a prison support officer.”

There were tears from the family and cries of "love you" as Sharples, of Chorley, Lancs, was sent down.

Their relationship was exposed following a routine search of Sharples’ handbag as she made away past a prison security gate for a night shift at the jail in October 2014.

A custody manager seized a purple medicine syringe with the plunger depressed and traces of semen on the inside which was matched by DNA testing to Berkeley.

A month later police searched Sharples' home and found a handwritten letter from Berkeley hidden carefully in her underwear drawer.

Cavendish Press

The ruthless gangster was doing time for kidnapping when he handed over the semen filled syringe

Former friend Nicola Ball, who once worked at the prison, claimed she had tried to warn Sharples off Berkeley and said the officer had even told her she had taken a phone into jail for her lover.

Ball added: "I tried to reiterate that the people they are on the inside isn't the same person they are on the outside. She said she and Marvin had been talking about the possibility of having a baby.

''Marvin had been talking about having a chocolate baby with her, and so a syringe was used for that."

Berkeley, from Salford, Greater Manchester, and his twin brother Michael, then 22, had been locked away in 2007 after police investigating a notorious underworld gang found pictures of the pair smiling proudly with guns.

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